Back to ArticlesNavigating Guardianship in the State of Wyoming
July 8, 2021
Navigating Guardianship in the State of WyomingKinship care and guardianship are two topics that go hand and hand, read our blog to learn more.
Navigating Guardianship in the State of Wyoming
In the realm of kinship care, Guardianship is a huge topic and one
that brings about many questions for both caregivers and professionals. Kinship
Connections of Wyoming is here to help caregivers and the professionals they
work with navigate what decisions are best regarding guardianship and to
connect to resources that can help remove some of the burden. As a kinship caregiver you may have asked yourself whether you
should file for guardianship or what guardianship would even mean for your
family. Caring for a child that is not your own can be very challenging and
sometimes confusing. Using the legal system can also be challenging as it is
not always user-friendly and you may not know where to start on your journey. Kinship
Connections of Wyoming assist you through the process of filing, renewing, and
semi-annual reporting. There are also many other agencies available to
caregivers such as Community Action and Youth Alternatives. Youth Alternatives
has a program called Kinship Advocacy which provides caregivers access to
resources related to guardianship and help with filling out related documents
for both Permanent and Temporary Guardianship across the state of Wyoming. You
can learn more at youthalternatives.net. Community Action of Laramie County has
an older relative caregiver program as well as temporary guardianship services
to help assist families in Laramie County with filing for guardianship. Learn
more at calc.net/kinship/ You are not alone and there are resources to help you
through the process if this is where your situation is leading you.
In order for a guardianship to be granted, the
parent(s) must agree or the court must deem the parent as unfit and order a new
guardian. This is a very significant decision and should be done with a lot of
thoughtful consideration; a guardian acts as a parent for the child and takes
on the responsibility that parent would have over the child.
There are three types of guardianship that you
can file for. Here is a brief description about each type and when they may be
most appropriate.
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Type
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What is it?
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When to file for it?
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Temporary Guardianship for Educational,
Medical Care, and Dental Purposes.
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A form of guardianship used specifically to
meet a child’s educational, medical and dental needs. This is the most
limited and temporary form of guardianship. Expires in one year unless
otherwise determined sooner by a court order.
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When you have a child in your care you know
that the care you are providing with be short term. This will allow you to
sign them up for school, and get them medical and dental care. This form is
typically used when parents remain the primary caregiver but may need someone
else to take over certain responsibilities.
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Temporary Guardianship
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A form of guardianship in which primary parent
roles are taken over by the guardian and responsibility lies with that
guardian. Expires in one year and must be renewed prior to that year if continuation
is necessary. A court order may terminate the guardianship prior to the one
year expiration.
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This could be used in a variety of situations,
such as when the parent is working on bettering their future and needs to
have someone take over parental responsibility for a short period. This type
may also be appropriate for deployment situations.
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Permanent Guardianship
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A form of guardianship in which the guardian
takes primary parental responsibilities and cares for the child full
time. Guardians are required to submit status reports and are due to
the court every six months. The only way this type of guardianship can be
terminated is through a court order.
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This could be used in situations where a
parent is incarcerated for a long period of time, death of a parent,
abandonment of a child, and many other situations where a parent cannot care
for the child.
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Guardianship can be filed with or without the
help of a lawyer. The required guardianship paperwork with instructions can be
found at the Wyoming Judicial Branch website. https://www.courts.state.wy.us/legal-assistances-and-forms/
If you are interested in receiving information
and support around exploring and/or filing for guardianship, simply dial 2-1-1
and ask for Kinship Connections. You will be connected to a Kinship Navigator
who is looking forward to assisting you.